Norris prepared for McLaren sacrifice but expects fundamental change

Lando Norris feels McLaren's improvement in the 2023 season hasgiven him the confidence to believe the team can finally addresslong-standing Formula 1 weaknesses. After a slow start with theMCL60, earning just 17 points from the first eight races, anupgrade in Austria brought the team back into podium contention,before a further package in Singapore allowed the tea to be secondbest behind Red Bull. Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri rallied tofinish fourth in the Constructors' with nine podiums and a Sprintwin in Qatar, but both felt their ability to deliver with the MCL60was hamstrung by long-term slow-speed weaknesses the team had notrectified. Norris prefers to 'U' a corner, carrying more minimumspeed, in the style of Jenson Button, but instead has been forcedto 'V' corners in the McLaren, with a sharp turn-in to maximise thepackage. However, while Norris has expressed frustration it had notbeen addressed, he believes the giant steps forward made in 2023mean the team is ready to address the problems. "For where we are,and for what we want to achieve, for what we've done in the season,before we've listened and really focused on the smaller details,and the small details make a big difference," Norris told mediaincluding RacingNews365. "The smaller details are in terms ofmaking the driver a bit happier rather than just making the carquicker, but as I have said, I'd rather a quicker and trickier carto drive than vice versa with a slower but nicer car to drive."[The target] is to make the car a bit more driveable, a bit morerounded, and that the hardest task to achieve, because it is sodifficult to do without compromise. "It's such a difficult thing tohave a good front end, but then not to be too strong on the exitbecause the rear needs to be better. "It's a juggling act ratherthan just adding things everywhere, and that juggling act is verydifficult to achieve. "It is tough, but do I have confidence in it?Yes, after this year, I have more confidence than ever that theteam can look into these things that we want as drivers andactually start to chip away at them. "Over the past few years, Iwouldn't say that I haven't had that confidence because we've had[the problems] for four or five years. "Now I would say withconfidence that we can make those next steps to make a good car,but also making a car that starts to suit us as drivers."